All conquering, or conqued out?

Pandemic Studios have given us some really good titles over the years, including Mercenaries 1&2 and Star Wars Battlefront 2. So to hear that they would be helming a Lord of the Rings game based around the Battlefront concept was an exciting prospect.

There are two campaigns in Lord of the Rings: Conquest, each comprised of eight levels. The first, War of the Ring, puts you in the shoes of the elves and heroes from the film, fighting some of the key battles from the trilogy, as well as some all-new battles. The second campaign, The Rise of Sauron, alters the ending to the last film; showing the outcome had Frodo not thrown the ring into Mount Doom. As a result this campaign sees you fighting as the Orcs and their so-called heroes like the Witch King.

Class act

Lord of the Rings: Conquest presents four classes to choose from, each possessing different attacking and defensive skills. Archers are ranged attackers; Mages are defensive using magic, Warriors use close ranged attacks and the Scouts are quick and best used to get behind the enemy. The Hero characters are also in these categories, although their moves are marginally more powerful. There are slight overlaps between each though; for example the Warrior is equipped with a throwing axe in case his target is a little out of his reach and the Archer can kick those who get a little close.

The controls in Lord of the Rings: Conquest are nicely set up with everything in a sensible place. The face buttons are your standard attacks, while your block, zoom and modifier are on the shoulders. Some may find the controls slow to begin with, and there’s a very slight delay between pressing the button and the attack happening. At first this is slightly annoying, but as the game progresses you’ll find that it makes hitting combos easier, with well-timed strikes ensuring blows continue to reign down fluidly.

Online, Lord of the Rings: Conquest is not that different to the singleplayer. While the multiplayer modes can be can be played on your own with AI players, it really comes to life when you’re placed in the middle of huge 16-person battles. Having said that, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest does only have half the players of the Battlefront games, and can lack the epic feel you’d expect from Lord of the Rings battles. Moreover, lag seems to be more of an issue than on current online standard-setters like Call of Duty.

Capture the Ring!

Even so, find a good online match and Lord of the Rings: Conquest is lots of fun. The four multiplayer modes are Capture the Ring, Deathmatch, Conquest and Online Campaign Story. The first two are standard in most online games. Conquest is an eight vs eight mode where you score points by taking key objectives, and Online Campaign is the single player campaign mode, playable with a friend.

Graphically Lord of the Rings Conquest is solid. Character models look like their movie counterparts, with the Orcs and Uraki looking suitably ugly. Yet battlegrounds themselves vary in appearance. Minas Tirith looks amazing; The White City shines in the background of battle, with its narrow corridors and high vantage points giving some great strategic advantages. Other levels though seem a bit bland in both detail and scale. All in all, a bit of a mixed bag.

The music is a very different matter. Lord of the Rings: Conquest features a score taken directly from the films, so it’s a joy to listen to as you’re hacking your way through Orcs and Elves alike. Hugo Weaving also reprises his role as Elrond to provide the narrative. Throughout the battles you’ll be reminded of your objectives as Elves and Orcs shout over the clashing of swords and the crackle of lightning. It’s a nice touch, though we could live without the Orcs bad East End Cockney accent.

Good fun

In the end, Lord of the Rings: Conquest proves a good, fun game; but in places it just doesn’t feel entirely complete. The biggest omission is a levelling system, while on the whole, Pandemic haven’t quite nailed the sense of scale we’d hoped for. Not a bad start to this years new releases, then, but instead of rising up like a fiery Balrog, Lord of the Rings: Conquest limps in more like an angry wet Hobbit.

GAME's Verdict

• The first game to let you become a single character in large-scale LoTR battles.
• Some of the maps look truly amazing.
• The soundtrack is stonking stuff, taken straight from the films. Narration is a nice touch.

• The two Campaigns are both actually quite short.
• Lacks the sense of scale we'd hoped for in every battle.
• Lag can be a rather large issue.

Review by: Tom 'Underhill' Daly
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 23.01.09